Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is back in the news after posting a video to social media on Friday in which he supported a free Taiwan.
“Taiwan is a democratic and free country, and I stand with Taiwan,” Kanter added in a video posted to Twitter. “Did you know that even though Taiwan has their own history, their own government, their own land, their own elections, their own everything, Xi Jinping is stuck in his own world.”
On Sunday evening, Kanter stuck with his theme, asking President Biden if he planned on discussing the “Uyghur Genocide” and the “assault on Tibetans & HK (Hong Kong)” with “Dictator Xi Jinping.”
“President [Joe Biden] & Dictator Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak [President of the United States] Stop playing games with bullies & do what you promised to the world! Prioritize Human Rights! Will [Joe Biden] ask about Uyghur Genocide or assault on Tibetans & HK? Or will they pat each other on the back?”
President @JoeBiden & Dictator
Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak@POTUS
Stop playing games with bullies &
do what you promised to the world!
Prioritize Human Rights!Will @JoeBiden ask about Uyghur Genocide or assault on Tibetans & HK?
Or will they pat each other on the back? pic.twitter.com/kKwVNmb9ce
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) November 14, 2021
President Biden and Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet virtually on Monday evening. On Friday, the White House said “President Biden will make clear U.S. intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the PRC.”
Over the past month, Kanter has taken to social media to hammer Communist China over its alleged human rights violations.
On October 20, Kanter called on “brutal dictator Xi Jinping” to “free Tibet.”
“My message to the Chinese government is free Tibet,” Kanter wrote. “Tibet belongs to Tibetans. I am here to add my voice and speak out against what is happening in Tibet under the Chinese government’s brutal rule, Tibetans people’s basic rights and freedoms are non existent.”
Following Kanter’s message, the Chinese streaming service Tencent — which has partnered with the NBA — cut the live feed of the October matchup between the Celtics and the New York Knicks. All future Celtics games were marked as unavailable to be live-streamed, according to The New York Times.
Kanter then went after China’s treatment of the Uyghur people, calling on the Chinese government to “stop the genocide” of the Uyghur people.
“Right now as I speak this message, torture, rape, forced abortions, sterilizations, family separations, arbitrary detentions, concentration camps, political reeducation, forced labor,” Kanter said. “This is all happening right now to more than 1.8 million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region in northwestern China.”
Kanter’s last message before standing with Taiwan over the weekend was for Nike and co-founder Phil Knight.
“Your company says that you’re making a positive impact in our communities,” Kanter said. “And that is true. Yes, you are. Here, in the United States, Nike stands with Black Lives Matter. Nike stands with Stop Asian Hate. Nike stands with the Latino community. And Nike stands with the LGBTQ community … But when it comes to China, Nike remains silent.”
“You do not address [police brutality] in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China. You are scared to speak up.”
Kanter ended the video by calling out Nike’s co-founder, along with LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
“Nike likes to say ‘Just Do It.’ Well, what are you doing about the slave labor that makes your shoes? That slave labor that makes you rich,” Kanter said. “To the owner of Nike — Phil Knight — I have a message for you. How about I book plane tickets for us, let’s fly to China together. We can try to visit these slave labor camps and you can see with your own eyes. LeBron James and Michael Jordan, you guys are welcome to come too. Nike must be a participant in this. Stop the hypocrisy. Stop the modern-day slavery now.”
In an interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour, Kanter claimed that he asked to remove his “Free Tibet” sneakers before the Knicks game, though NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been supportive of his freedom of speech.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].